


No Strings

by darringtons



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Codependency, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Season/Series 01, Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 13:59:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10492416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darringtons/pseuds/darringtons
Summary: It's probably the best con he's ever pulled, making them all think he was a hero. Hell, he even fooled himself sometimes.





	

When Lenny was four, he wanted to be a super hero – what kid didn’t? All his favorite comics were about super heroes, he idolized them, sought refuge in their tales.

By the time he was eight, he understood that super heroes didn’t exist. No one was coming to save him, and he had no business saving anyone else. It was a hard lesson to learn at his age.

Little Lisa looked at him with awe in her wide eyes from the very first day, and even if he can’t be a super hero, he can at least be her hero. (He learned quickly how to draw dad’s attention away from her when he was in a mood.)

At twelve, dad said he was old enough to join the family business – what he really meant was Lenny’s hands were small enough to rig the wiring on security devices.

By fourteen, he felt invincible. Stealing jewels and paintings and frivolous shit – he finally feels like he has some worth to his father. Of course… that didn’t stop the beatings. No matter how good he was, it was never good enough.

Stealing a convertible and going for a joy ride certainly wasn’t one of his brightest plans, but damn it felt good in the moment.

 

Lenny had always been small for his age, and with half-healed bruising under his eye, he must’ve looked like the prime target. It didn’t help that he was all talk; if he’d just kept his damn mouth shut…

But instead he’d opened his big mouth, called out the guys for beating on someone even smaller – he’s no hero, he learned that long ago, but there was no honor in beating the shit out of some kid who couldn’t defend himself.

Not like he could defend himself either.

 

He was no damsel in distress. No, he was just some kid getting his ass handed to him by a pair of teens twice his size. And it wasn’t like the guy who comes to his rescue was much bigger, and he certainly wasn’t a knight in shining armor, but Lenny’s never been _saved_ before, so this entirely unknown territory for him.

 

Mick was kind of a jerk, but he also gave Lenny half his fries and whatever desert was served, and he never seemed to mind Lenny’s presence.

 

Lenny was out of juvie and back again before he even had a chance to enjoy the freedom. Mick snorted as he sat down across from him at the lunch table, and didn’t even look up, just dumped some of his food onto Lenny’s plate.

It was several minutes before Mick even looked at him, and his face fell instantly. “Alright, which idiot hit you?”

“It’s nothing,” Lenny said, shaking his head. He could feel the bruises around his eye every time he blinked, but he hardly even noticed these days. It was a familiar feeling.

“Not nothing. It was Wardo, wasn’t it?” Mick said, rising from his seat, with balled fists. “I’m gonna give him-”

Lenny grabbed his wrist to stop him. “It was no one here,” he said.

Mick sat back down, but his jaw was still tense. “Someone at home?” he asked.

Lenny nodded slowly.

“Your dad?”

Lenny had never talked about it with anyone, never had anyone to talk with. No one at school every paid him any attention, and it wasn’t like he and Lisa ever _talked_ about what happened.

Mick leaned closer. “You want me to kill him?” he whispered.

Lenny didn’t know if he was kidding or not. He didn’t know if he _wanted_ him to be kidding.

 

By the time he learned that there were super heroes in the world, he’d long since given up on that dream. He wasn’t a hero. He was good at what he did, but he knew… what he did wasn’t heroic shit. Even Lisa, as close as they were, didn’t look at him like a hero any more.

That was okay.

 

Heroes weren’t all they were cracked out to be anyway. Certainly not if they saw something in him.

But the Flash, that stupid kid, did see something in him, something that he’d stopped looking for a long time ago. Barry Allen, always sees the best in people.

But he also made people _want_ to be better.

Damn him.

 

Stupid kid’s gotten under his skin. It’s the only damn explanation, because when Hunter offers them the opportunity to be _legends_ he falls for it, hook, line, and sinker. Even manages to drag Mick along for the ride. For a while anyway.

 

He wasn’t a hero. He didn’t want to be a hero.

But whatever he did want, it wasn’t the same thing Mick wanted. Not anymore. And that was a weird feeling, because they’d been partners for 30 years, and they had always, _always_ been in the same place.

Until now.

 

Letting Mick stay in 2046 isn’t an option. He tells himself it’ll disrupt the timeline, and that Mick would regret it if he did.

He doesn’t let himself consider that it’s his own selfish needs that he’s looking out for. Not until it’s too late.

 

Abandoning him in the middle of nowhere wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t what he _wanted_. The problem is: he isn’t sure of what he wants anymore. He didn’t want to leave the Waverider or the team. He didn’t want to leave Mick either. But his options were mutually exclusive. He could either stay with Mick, or stay with the team.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t choose Mick.

He honestly isn’t sure if it was the right choice.

 

There was never any doubt in his mind. He was going to go back for him. As soon as all this mess was cleared up. He would go back for him and they’d be partners again.

Never in a thousand years did he dream that he wouldn’t make it back to him in time.

He felt betrayed. No fists, no broken bottles had ever cut this deep.

Had Mick felt this when Lenny left him there?

Had Mick felt anything?

 

He was angry. Really angry, at first. Not at Mick, only at himself. If only he hadn’t left him behind, if only he’d let him stay in 2046.

If only he hadn’t been so damn selfish.

And that’s what it all came back to, wasn’t it.

 

He lets Mick beat the shit out of him. He never had any intention of killing Mick. That was never an option. He couldn’t do it then, he wouldn’t do it now.

But Mick didn’t kill him either. Len wasn’t sure if that made him feel relieved or disappointed.

He wears the bruises like a badge anyway. Some part of Mick is still in there, still _cares._

 

 

 

He can see it in Sara’s eyes. She thinks he’s a hero. Maybe, in some way, he is. But this had nothing to do with that.

For the same reason he couldn’t kill Mick, he can’t let Mick sacrifice himself here. Maybe he’d thought it was his shot at redemption, or more probably he just wanted revenge. Neither was worth losing him over, not for Len.

He always needed Mick a lot more than Mick needed him anyway. Mick would be fine. Lenny though? He wasn’t sure he could go back to life without Mick.

Made the decision easy.

And he didn’t regret it for a second.


End file.
